Are push-ups as punishment really abuse?

Take a look at this story out of Detroit about a 13-year-old boy who was hospitalized for a week after his school made him do push-ups as punishment for running in the hall and closing lockers. He was given a choice of detention or push-ups, and he chose push-ups.

The boy says he had to do 100. School officials say he was asked to do three sets of 20 with breaks in between. The boy was hospitalized for Rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of the muscles, which can happen by overdoing exercise.

As the reader who sent this to me pointed out, there was a time when we did push-ups at school and the President gave us a certificate for it.